UKI vs AKC agility

My honest version: UKI is a bit more running. The courses are generally more spread out, there are more backsides, and some of what they ask for is harder. If you’ve run AKC Premier, you already have a good picture of it.

People also say you need a lot of distance for UKI. I don’t think you need more than you do in AKC. It’s nice to have, and it’s fine if you don’t.

The rulebooks back up the “more spread out” part. UKI requires at least 18 feet between obstacles. AKC only recommends its spacing, and the recommendation starts lower, at 15 to 18 feet, with 18 feet to a jump.

In AKC, the lower levels give you some room. A Novice Standard run can still qualify with up to two refusals and one wrong course, and Open Standard allows one of each. From Excellent up, any course fault is a non-qualifying run.

In UKI, the run that earns points is a clear round, which means no course faults and no time faults. So an AKC team used to Novice or Open has less room for error in UKI, and a team already running Master is used to that standard.

This is the part that trips people up when they run both, because the two count different things.

AKC counts qualifying runs. Each class has its own titles, and Standard and Jumpers With Weaves climb side by side.

The championship, MACH, takes 750 points and 20 double Qs, where a double Q is qualifying in Master Standard and Master Jumpers With Weaves on the same day.

UKI counts points. You collect them at the level your dog is in, and when you have enough, your dog earns that level’s title and moves up, with the points starting again from zero. There are two programs, International and Speedstakes, and each has its own title at every level.

In the International program the points also have to come from the right mix of Agility, Jumping, and Games classes. The full breakdown is on the UKI agility titles page.

Moose is a good example of how different the two feel. In AKC he has his MX and MXJ, which is ten qualifying runs in each at Master level. In UKI he has his BID and SSB, which is 12 points in each program at Beginners, and he’s working on his Novice titles now.

If you’re wondering why a dog running Master in AKC is near the start in UKI, it comes down to timing. I registered Moose with UKI when he was getting close to 15 months old and I was just starting to think about trialing in AKC. My idea was that UKI would give us some extra practice. He hadn’t competed anywhere yet, so he started in Beginners. Then AKC was going really well, and we stayed with it for a while before I entered a UKI trial. UKI sets your dog’s level when you register, and what you earn in AKC afterward doesn’t change it.

One more difference worth knowing: in AKC, FAST and Time 2 Beat have their own titles and never affect your Standard or Jumpers titles. In UKI, the games count. From Novice up, an International title needs points from Games classes too.

You may not have to start at the bottom. When you register your dog with UKI, the level they run in AKC Standard decides where they begin, in both programs.

After that, only UKI results move your dog up. The rules behind this table are on the UKI page under “Where your dog starts in UKI”.

Both let you use a run for training, and the details are different enough to matter.

I haven’t used a training run with Moose yet, so I can’t tell you how either one feels from the inside.

The main classes line up neatly. UKI Agility is the same idea as AKC Standard, with contacts and weaves, and UKI Jumping is the same idea as AKC Jumpers With Weaves. Speedstakes is jumps and tunnels only, and it has its own titles.

The Masters Series has no match in AKC. A Masters heat is two rounds, one agility and one jumping, with the results combined. It’s open to dogs at every UKI level, each jump height is its own competition, and the courses can run to 22 obstacles where a regular class stops at 20.

Clear rounds in a Masters heat count for level points like any other class. Doing well in heats is also one of the ways teams qualify for the Masters final at the UKI US Open. The ways in are set fresh each year, and they’re laid out in what to know about the UKI US Open.

The cutoffs are close but they aren’t the same, so a dog can land in a different jump height in each. Both have a lower option too: AKC Preferred is 4 inches lower, and UKI Select is one height lower.

Age is the other thing to check with a young dog. AKC lets a dog compete at 15 months. UKI is 18 months for most classes, and 15 months for Speedstakes and Nursery.

Neither one has a set price. Each trial sets its own fees, and it depends on the club and how that trial is run, so the only real numbers are the ones in the premium for the trial you’re entering.

To give you an idea, at one AKC trial I’ve entered in Massachusetts, the first run of the day was $27 and each one after that cost less, down to $19. At a UKI trial here, classes were $19 each and a Masters Series heat was $38. For me, a UKI day has come out cheaper.

Getting a spot is different too. Some AKC trials here fill within seconds of online entries opening. UKI trials are quieter, and I can always get a spot.

Yes. If you and your dog are comfortable in AKC, you have the skills to try UKI, and it’s fun to run something that feels a little different. New things are worth trying.